Guwahati: Availability of illegal weapons in Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District Council (BTC) areas is becoming a major concern for the people from both the Bodo and non-Bodo communities owing to the frequent occurrence of killings of innocent civilians, especially from non-Bodo communities in the area.
During this month alone, at least five persons from non-Bodo communities were killed in the Baksa district in the BTC areas, that too after heavy security arrangements were made in the area following a spell of violence in May, 2014 that had left over 50 people dead, most of whom belonged to non-Bodo communities.
A leader of the Sanmilita Janagosthiya Sangram Samity, a banner organization of non-Bodo communities in the BTC area, Hitesh Medhi demanded seizure of illegal weapons available in the area to check incidents of murder and arson plying in the area.
He alleged that the state government had miserably failed to apprehend the killers of innocent people in BTC areas.
A former leader of the militant group, United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and the newly-elected MP from Kokrajhar, Lok Sabha constituency, Naba Kumar Sarania has echoed what Medhi had said.
The MP stated that failure of the administration to apprehend the culprits involved in the murder of innocent non-Bodo persons in BTC has led to recurrence of such incidents.
Sarania who won Lok Sabha polls in Kokrajhar constituency by defeating all the three influential opponents from Bodo tribe community by managing to segregate majority non-Bodo voters in the constituency, said the situation in areas under BTC had remained very tense because of frequent killing of non-Bodo persons by suspected Bodo tribe gunmen.
In the wake of the latest killing of a youth leader Manoj Das in Baksa district of the BTC, who had worked for Sarania during the last Lok Sabha election, the MP said the administration had failed miserably to arrest culprits involved in various murders of non-Bodo people in recent times and that has led to the increase of fear among the non-Bodo population.
He said that if the situation remained this way then the non-Bodo population would be compelled to take the law into their hands to protect themselves.
Family members of the slain, Manoj Das alleged that he had received several threats over phone from suspected National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Sangbijit faction) for supporting and working for Naba Kumar Sarania during the Lok Sabha election.
The BTC is ruled by Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), a Bodo political party formed by former militants of the now disbanded Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT) in the wake of signing of the Bodo Peace Accord in 2003.
The BPF since its formation has been winning all the elections held in the BTC areas until the last Lok Sabha polls where their candidates were defeated hands down by non-Bodo Independent candidate Naba Kumar Sarania.
Meanwhile, influential All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) has reiterated its demand for seizure of illegal weapons available in the troubled Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District Council (BTC) areas for restoration of peace in the area.
The ABSU president Promod Boro claimed that illegal weapons were available in the BTC areas not only with militants but also with various other groups and availability of these weapons had been a grave threat to the peace and harmony in the area.
He informed that the ABSU had submitted several memoranda to the Union Home Ministry and Assam government urging them to take to seize all the illegal weapons available in the area to prevent violence clashes that have been commonplace in the area.
The ABSU leader said that though the students’ organisation has been taking up the issue at various levels since 2008, government at the State and the Centre has failed to take serious note of it.
The ABSU also moved to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over the issue and the latter had directed Assam Police to take appropriate steps.
According to an official source, Assam police and security forces have recovered over 160 illegal weapons in Assam since January, 2014 90 per cent of which were from the BTC areas.